Maneuvering for the 2009 legislative and presidential elections shaped much of what occurred in Indonesian politics in 2008. Elections for national and regional parliaments were scheduled to take place simultaneously in April 2009, and the first round of the presidential elections was to occur in July.

Demonstrators in Jakarta march and shout slogans during a public protest against fuel price hikes …

Achmad Ibrahim/AP

Pres. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (commonly known as SBY) declared in September 2008 that he would seek reelection. Since his election in 2004, he had mostly enjoyed high public approval. In early 2008, however, a number of respected surveys showed a sharp slide in his standing; several opinion polls indicated that SBY was running second to former Indonesian president Megawati Sukarnoputri.

SBY’s falling popularity was attributed to the government’s decision to reduce fuel subsidies by an average of almost 30%. The rising cost of these subsidies—some $19 billion annually, or about one-fifth of total budget outlays—had become unsustainable, especially as the cost of crude oil imports spiraled upward. Though welcomed by most economists, the fuel price rises sparked public protests, some of them violent, as well as condemnation from many political parties and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), which claimed that the policy would worsen inflation and poverty. The government sought to offset the impact of price rises on the poor by introducing a direct payment of 100,000 rupiah (about $10) per month to low-income households. Initially criticized as financially inadequate and prone to corruption, the direct payments appeared to be winning cautious approval from both grassroots communities and welfare groups.

Despite the backlash on fuel prices, SBY’s economic record remained good. The overall economy continued to grow more strongly than most others in the region, recording an annual increase of 6.4%, though inflation was relatively high, at 12.2%. Unemployment levels fell slightly, from 9.75% in early 2007 to 8.46% in early 2008 (about 10 million people). Poverty also fell modestly.

Megawati’s improving political stocks owed much to her status as a leading opponent of SBY. She had sharpened her criticism of his government over the past year and had been more active in campaigning at the community level. Her party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), was the only major party without representatives in the cabinet, and it served as the unofficial opposition in the parliament. As the popularity of SBY and his coalition government dropped, Megawati’s and the PDI-P’s climbed.

Other prominent candidates for the presidency included former generals Wiranto and Prabowo Subianto, both of whom established their own parties (Hanura and Gerindra, respectively) and were funding expensive advertising and community-mobilization campaigns. Unlike many of the other new parties formed since 2004, Hanura and Gerindra appeared to be well organized and well staffed, with retired military officers holding many key positions. The popularity of both men rose sharply, owing largely to their heavy promotional campaigns, but they both needed to overcome lingering public suspicion of generals with “tough” images.

Another candidate who had captured considerable public attention was Hamengkubuwono X, the sultan of Yogyakarta. He enjoyed strong support among his fellow Javanese, Indonesia’s single-largest and most politically influential ethnic group, and he also had the backing of powerful sections of Golkar, currently the largest party in the parliament. Although untested at national-level politics, Hamengkubuwono was thought to be a possible compromise candidate capable of attracting broader political support.

The presidential race was likely to remain very fluid until the results of the April legislative election were known. In what appeared to be an increasingly volatile electoral environment, most parties were reluctant to commit themselves to particular candidates until the makeup of the new parliament became clear. Thirty-four parties (10 more than in 2004) were expected to take part in the elections in 2009. Most of the smaller, newer parties had poor prospects, and a number of major parties might also struggle, having been dogged by internal disputes and leadership problems. These included three of the larger Islamic parties: the United Development Party (PPP), the National Mandate Party (PAN), and the National Awakening Party (PKB). Indeed, the only Islamic party in Indonesia with good prospects was the Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS).

The year 2008 was also notable for the extensive and successful anticorruption campaign led by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), which resulted in the investigation of a string of high-profile figures. Two cabinet members—the ministers for forestry and national planning—were under investigation for taking bribes, though SBY refused to stand them down until they had been proved guilty. One parliamentarian was jailed for graft, and a number of others faced similar charges. Revelations about MPs’ having received regular payments from government departments to pass legislation also filled the newspapers for much of the year. The former governor of Bank Indonesia, the central bank, was sentenced to imprisonment for five years for corruption; four of his senior officials were awaiting trial; and dozens of regional heads and legislators were jailed for a variety of corruption offenses. According to opinion polling, these cases helped to make the KPK the most-trusted institution in the country. It was unclear whether the wave of antigraft investigations would have a lasting impact on Indonesia’s entrenched culture of corruption, but a 2008 Transparency International survey lifted the country’s corruption ranking to 126 out of 180 (from 143 of 179 countries in 2007).

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